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adventurous
dark
emotional
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Spoilers ahead!!
The first half or so of this book was a bit boring and forgettable. I found myself begging Sera and Ash to stop talking, get out of bed, and brush their teeth or something.
The second part of the book picked back up nicely! It was a welcome return to the well-written and exciting story I’d been missing. There was a lot of action and though people died (stop killing draken!!) I’m thrilled that we didn’t losemain characters or people we really cared about in the final battle. It would have been too much after losing Ezra and the whole kingdom of Lasania, basically. I’m so tired of that level of doom and gloom. Seeing a truly unhinged and nutso Kolis was interesting, too.
I really enjoyed how Sera’s trauma and her processing of it was portrayed. She’s deeply flawed and her mistakes actually mattered. It’s refreshing to see that from a FMC.
I didn’t love how most of Ash’s personality was reduced to “over-protective wife-guy”. The chemistry and banter from books 1 and 2 was gone (until the end of the book imo). Ash doing things like growling at a doctor for touching Sera just made me mad. That’s not cute!! Chill out!!
And finally, the pregnancy trope. Normally I hate it and I was dreading the reveal from the first mention of nausea. BUT this one actually made sense and was well done. It wasn’t just plopped in there to wrap things up (cough coughACOTAR ). I liked that it played a part in the plot and answered a lot of questions. I did NOT like how much it emphasized that Sera and Ash had only known each other for like four months. How is that possible? It pissed me off. Anyway.
The first half had me annoyed but the second half had me locked in. I cant wait for the final book to come out in a few days!
The first half or so of this book was a bit boring and forgettable. I found myself begging Sera and Ash to stop talking, get out of bed, and brush their teeth or something.
The second part of the book picked back up nicely! It was a welcome return to the well-written and exciting story I’d been missing. There was a lot of action and though people died (stop killing draken!!) I’m thrilled that we didn’t lose
I really enjoyed how Sera’s trauma and her processing of it was portrayed. She’s deeply flawed and her mistakes actually mattered. It’s refreshing to see that from a FMC.
I didn’t love how most of Ash’s personality was reduced to “over-protective wife-guy”. The chemistry and banter from books 1 and 2 was gone (until the end of the book imo). Ash doing things like growling at a doctor for touching Sera just made me mad. That’s not cute!! Chill out!!
And finally, the pregnancy trope. Normally I hate it and I was dreading the reveal from the first mention of nausea. BUT this one actually made sense and was well done. It wasn’t just plopped in there to wrap things up (cough cough
The first half had me annoyed but the second half had me locked in. I cant wait for the final book to come out in a few days!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence
Moderate: Sexual assault, Pregnancy
Minor: Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Ok first I’m going to talk about the book, then the series, and I’ve tried to avoid any and all spoliers:
This book was SO GOOD! The tension throughout the book was really nice. I don’t know how many times I yelled, “that a**hole” in agreement with Sera, Nyktos, Attes, or Nyktas. The spicy scenes were just as good as they were in the first book and I can’t believe this part is over 🥲.
Plot:
Overarching and ties together very nicely. There were a few times when I got confused with the prophecy, but then again- is it truly a prophecy if not confusing?
Characters:
I felt a deep emotional connection with each of these characters at least once. A book hasn’t made me start balling in a while but Sera’s stages of trauma really got to me.
(My fav characters are Saion, Nyktas, Sera, Nytos, Attes - in that order)
Romance:
I think the main thing I loved about this series and this author is that she doesn’t fully romanticize romance. She gives us the struggles and the hardships that come with it, as well as the fun times.
Rocking the Steamboat Scenes:
Holy- mother of everything- if you want spicy scenes you’ve come to the right place!
The author overall does an amazing job with human emotions and intentions, writing the fine line of when they can get blurred.
I can’t wait to read the next series!! 🤩🤩
This book was SO GOOD! The tension throughout the book was really nice. I don’t know how many times I yelled, “that a**hole” in agreement with Sera, Nyktos, Attes, or Nyktas. The spicy scenes were just as good as they were in the first book and I can’t believe this part is over 🥲.
Plot:
Overarching and ties together very nicely. There were a few times when I got confused with the prophecy, but then again- is it truly a prophecy if not confusing?
Characters:
I felt a deep emotional connection with each of these characters at least once. A book hasn’t made me start balling in a while but Sera’s stages of trauma really got to me.
(My fav characters are Saion, Nyktas, Sera, Nytos, Attes - in that order)
Romance:
I think the main thing I loved about this series and this author is that she doesn’t fully romanticize romance. She gives us the struggles and the hardships that come with it, as well as the fun times.
Rocking the Steamboat Scenes:
Holy- mother of everything- if you want spicy scenes you’ve come to the right place!
The author overall does an amazing job with human emotions and intentions, writing the fine line of when they can get blurred.
I can’t wait to read the next series!! 🤩🤩
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Death, Gore, Panic attacks/disorders, Torture, Blood
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Torture, Suicide attempt, Gaslighting, Sexual harassment
Minor: Genocide, Alcohol
adventurous
challenging
emotional
funny
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual assault, Suicide attempt, Sexual harassment
Suicide attempt described/explain, was mentioned in previous book. Main protagonist suffers from PTSD from the events of the previous book.
adventurous
emotional
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Once again, JLA did wonders with her book. Sera and Ash's relationship growing stronger through trauma is beautiful. One could wish for more scenes with Jadis and Reaver that are so loveable, and hopefully there'll be a book that gets into them further as well as a book that shows Ires and Malec grow with the two drake, and would go over details as to why they picked these names for the babies, how did Malec's leaving happen, and the main events in between Sera's and Poppy's times. JLA also took her sweet time to have Sera realise she is pregnant, maybe too much time as it was strongly hinted since the previous book already.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Gore, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Torture, Violence, Blood, Grief, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, War, Injury/Injury detail
adventurous
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
The world that Jennifer L. Armentrout has created in the FAF and FBAA series is so intriguing and beautifully crafted. I absolutely loved to be back with Sera and Nyktos.
Of the two series, I am definitely more partial to FAF and I felt like this was a fantastic conclusion to the series overall. This one did take me a while to get through however. The book picks up immediately after the last book and I felt there was still so much unnecessary repetition. A lot could have been edited out without it impacting the story whatsoever. But once I got over those initial hurdles, I was hooked and couldn’t put this down.
JLA is an extraordinary storyteller, however, her writing style sometimes doesn’t flow. Oftentimes certain phrases are used that feel more modern/trendy that pulled me out of the story a bit. Phrases that don’t feel rooted in the world that has been built. And, as with FBAA, we again lose a bit of Nyktos to the lust and Sera championing that goes on. While not as bad as FBAA, Nykotos still maintained more of his own personality, he still felt heavily engulfed in his lust for Sera and whatever came with that. She couldn’t even hug her father-like friend without him growling. While I am all for a MMC growling “she’s mine” to some background douche or the villain, the constant posturing against your own friends and family is annoying. I also had a bit of an issue with the pacing of the story. Overall, it felt a bit slow and it wasn’t until I was about 50-60% through before I was finally into it. Too much unnecessary dialogue/scenes and the most important parts of the plot seemed to be jammed into the last 30% of the book. The final showdown with Kolis, unfortunately, was rushed.
I appreciated how JLA handled Sera’s trauma and healing journey from her SA and Nyktos’ gentleness as he helped her through it.
I enjoyed the scheming, strategizing and political aspects. I absolutely LOVED the karma that was doled out. Nektas, Reaver and Jadis were, again, my standout favourites. I need a series just about the drakken. There were moments that made me laugh, cry and moments that had me on the edge of my seat. I loved learning more about the prophecy and puzzling it out alongside Sera. This series did a fantastic job weaving together the events of FAF and FBAA and I’m so excited to grab the next FBAA book to see how everything ties off.
Of the two series, I am definitely more partial to FAF and I felt like this was a fantastic conclusion to the series overall. This one did take me a while to get through however. The book picks up immediately after the last book and I felt there was still so much unnecessary repetition. A lot could have been edited out without it impacting the story whatsoever. But once I got over those initial hurdles, I was hooked and couldn’t put this down.
JLA is an extraordinary storyteller, however, her writing style sometimes doesn’t flow. Oftentimes certain phrases are used that feel more modern/trendy that pulled me out of the story a bit. Phrases that don’t feel rooted in the world that has been built. And, as with FBAA, we again lose a bit of Nyktos to the lust and Sera championing that goes on. While not as bad as FBAA, Nykotos still maintained more of his own personality, he still felt heavily engulfed in his lust for Sera and whatever came with that. She couldn’t even hug her father-like friend without him growling. While I am all for a MMC growling “she’s mine” to some background douche or the villain, the constant posturing against your own friends and family is annoying. I also had a bit of an issue with the pacing of the story. Overall, it felt a bit slow and it wasn’t until I was about 50-60% through before I was finally into it. Too much unnecessary dialogue/scenes and the most important parts of the plot seemed to be jammed into the last 30% of the book. The final showdown with Kolis, unfortunately, was rushed.
I appreciated how JLA handled Sera’s trauma and healing journey from her SA and Nyktos’ gentleness as he helped her through it.
I enjoyed the scheming, strategizing and political aspects. I absolutely LOVED the karma that was doled out. Nektas, Reaver and Jadis were, again, my standout favourites. I need a series just about the drakken. There were moments that made me laugh, cry and moments that had me on the edge of my seat. I loved learning more about the prophecy and puzzling it out alongside Sera. This series did a fantastic job weaving together the events of FAF and FBAA and I’m so excited to grab the next FBAA book to see how everything ties off.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Violence, Blood, Suicide attempt, Injury/Injury detail
adventurous
dark
emotional
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual assault, Violence, Sexual harassment
Moderate: Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Murder, Pregnancy
Minor: Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Gore, Sexual content, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Death of parent, Murder, Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Animal death, Child death, Cursing, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual assault, Toxic relationship, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Sexual harassment
Minor: Body shaming, Confinement, Abortion, Suicide attempt, Alcohol
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual assault, Pregnancy, War
Minor: Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Grief, Murder, Pregnancy, War, Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Vomit
Minor: Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt
dark
emotional
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
The politics of this book is bonkers to me. I'm supposed to believe that the good guys are the ones who declare that there needs to be a single-party system and anyone who won't swear allegiance to them they'll murder and then install one of their lackeys on the seat of government for each sub-country? What kind of fascist USSR bullshit is this? And after Sera commits literal atrocities the lesson she takes away from it is, I should never have tried to be a better person, I should have leaned all the way into being a murderous unhinged monster from the start?? Wtf? Yeah, Kolis is worse, but that's not saying much. A jar of expired mayonnaise would make a better ruler than Kolis—it doesn't mean that Sera and Nyktos are actually good. This book made me deeply dislike Sera, which is a shame, because I had been enjoying Sera/Ash more than Poppy/Cas. It was also deeply unpleasant to read about her dealing with her trauma, I think even more so than reading the actual trauma occuring in the last book. Btw, why'd you have to retcon her abuse to include fingering now Jennifer?? Just to twist the knife? It would have made a better point about her assault not being "nothing" if you didn't include touching genitals but showed that this is assault regardless. I was also stressed out the whole time about the effect Sera's PTSD/depression would be having on her babies, and pissed off that once she learned she was pregnant she refused to stop fighting to protect them. I am getting so tired of "badass" female characters who are only badass because they're aggressive, violent, and reckless. I want a female character to be badass because she is smart, calculating, and controlled! Show me the power in restraint! Anyway, Attes and Holland are wonderful and nearly everyone else is annoying to me at this point. I'm going to stick with the series because I've come this far, but man am I pissed at how much potential this series had and how far it went off the rails.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Genocide, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Violence, Blood, Murder, War
Moderate: Pregnancy
Minor: Vomit, Abortion, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Alcohol